Ukraine Drafts Industry Blacklist, New Arms Program

Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Yuriy Gusev announced that the ministry will create a blacklist of defense companies that supply low-quality weapons and equipment or cause delays in supplies to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Gusev said that a certification program will be designed to designate those companies that supply high-quality weapons and equipment and operate in according with agreed delivery schedules.

The move comes as the Defense Ministry is drafting a conceptual document on a special program for acquisitions of arms and military equipment by the Ukrainian military in the years 2015-2020.

Local analysts say that the Ukrainian government aims to reduce inefficient defense spending, which hampers its military efforts against Russian-backed separatists in the country’s east.

“Despite the measures which have been implemented by the [Ukrainian Defense Ministry], a large portion of defense spending could be streamlined in a more efficient way,” said an analyst from a government-run think tank in Warsaw. “The Ukrainian military are combating [Russia-backed insurgents] despite these shortcomings, but further steps need to be taken to avoid a loss of resources ... which are already scarce.”